A nursery has reopened its doors just months after being forced to close.

Brambles Nursery in Reydon blamed the “incredibly challenging operating environment” after saying they had “no choice” but to close in July.

Now, backed by parents, staff and Suffolk County Council, Alpha Nurseries took control of the site, and reopened the doors months later, creating six new jobs.

Nursery manager Lucy Ruskin said: “It has taken a lot to set up the nursery. The building was in quite a mess when Alpha Nurseries took over, so it had to be fully deep cleaned along with a lot of work in the garden to make it safe for the children to use.

“Having put so much work into the nursery has made me love the setting even more. Living in the local area means that I was able to see first hand the impact the closure had on the local area.

“The lack of other providers in the area meant that families would have to travel long distances for childcare or children were missing out on these early years experiences all together.

“It is fantastic that Alpha have supported me with the setting up of the nursery and re-employing staff that only a few months ago were made unemployed.”

Brambles Day Nursery, which is on the site of the old Reydon Children Centre, now uses the whole building and welcomes children aged five and under, and for five to 11-year olds in the after school and holiday club.

David Finch, Alpha Nurseries managing director, said: “When we started back in 2008, the main aim was to support families to access good quality childcare, regardless of their economical background.

“That is why we took the decision in 2015 to expand the Alpha Nurseries cluster to included Alpha Community Nurseries that not only look to set up or support smaller settings in rural locations, but to also give back a percentage of the profit that the nursery makes to the local community in whatever way the community feels that it will benefit them.

“Once we heard of the plight of Brambles Nursery, we were really keen to get involved and get it back open as it fits with our company ethos really well.

“We are so glad to have had brilliant feedback from the parents and the staff and many are so surprised at how much the setting has changed for the better in a short space of time.”

The setting offers both 15 and 30 hour funded places along with private spaces for paying parents.

Katie Stibborn, a parent at the nursery, said: “It has been such a transformation. It is so much bigger, cleaner, and brighter.

“The work that Lucy and her new team have put in, inside and out, is astounding. It all feels amazingly positive, and it is great to hear they have already started settling the youngest ones in.

“I know this has been a really stressful time for everyone, parents, children and staff, but it looks like really positive, and probably overdue, change has come out of it.

“Thank you to everyone who has worked and campaigned so hard for this, from what I have seen, it was totally worth it.”

The nursery hosted their successful Community Extravagansa in December, with the Town Crier opening proceedings. All money raised was donated to Duchenne UK.